Process of treating lead, silver, or zinc ores.



UNITED STATES Patented October 20, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

SOLOMON GANELIN, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 741,653, dated October 20, 1903.

Applicationfiled January 25, 1900. Renewed July 17, 1903. Serial No.166.046. (N0 specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I,SoLoMoN GANELIN,a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Berlin, Germany, have invented a new and Improved Process of Treating Ores and Substances Containing Lead, Silver, and Zinc, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to the treatment of ores or substances containing lead, silver, or zinc, and has for its object to provide a simple and economical process for the recovery of the above-named metals, either as oxids, oxychlorids, or in a metallic state.

My improved process is based upon the property of certain salts, such as chlorids or double salts thereof, &c., to dissolve when in a molten condition considerable amounts of metallic oxids, particularly of oxids of lead, silver, and zinc. These molten masses permit of recovering the metals from them by electrolysis or by treatment with metallic zinc or lead, and, further, when dissolved in Water the mass will yield up the major portion of the oxids as a residue insoluble in water. These properties afford means for obtainingthe final product either in the metallic state or as oxids,or perhaps,oxychlorids.

I proceed as follows: The ores or substances containing one or more of the abovenamed metals are first, if required, heated or roasted for the purpose of converting the metallic compounds they contain into oxide. This step is of course superfluous when the ores or substances contain the metals as oxids, but is required in case of carbonates or sulfids, such as zinc-blendes (ZnS) or zincspar (ZnOO or lead-zinc ores, such as the Well-known ores of Broken Hill, (New South Wales.) After bringing the ores into the condition of oxids they are mixed with a molten mass, preferably molten double chlorid of zinc and sodium, until the oxide of the ore have become thoroughly dissolved in the said molten mass and the rest of the ore remains undissolved. By this reaction these oxids are probably converted into chloride or oxychlorids or basic salts as expressed in the following equations:

The molten mass is then removed by decanting, filtering, or otherwise separating it from those parts of the ore which are insoluble in said chlorids, such. as silicates or gangue, and after cooling the mass thus freed from the gangue, &c., is dissolved in water. The result is a solution of the salt originally employed and a waterrinsoluble precipitate containing the major portion of the metallic oxids. By filtering and leaching the precipitated oxids or oxychlorids can be separated therefrom, while the solution may be treated by evaporation to recover the original double salt, which may thus be used over and over again.

Instead of separating the lead, silver, or zinc as oxids or oxychlorids from the molten mass they can be obtained in the metallic state. In this case the molten mass (with the gangue, silicates, or other insoluble substances or after the removal of such sub-' stances) is el'ectrolyzed, causing the metals to be deposited upon the cathode in succession-for instance, first silver, then lead, and

then zincwhile oxygen is liberated at the anode.

In this method the metal to be separated must not be more basic than the metal the salt of which is used for dissolving the oxid of the first-mentioned metal. If, for instance,

I zinc oxid is dissolved in molten lead chlorid,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. The herein-described process for the treatment of ores and substances containing metallic oxids, particularly those of silver, lead'or zinc, which consists in mixing said substances with a molten salt capable of dissolving the said oxids from the rest of the ore and then recovering the metals of said :0 ore and then separating the metallic suboxids, substantially as described.

stances from said salt and the rest of the ore. In testimony whereof I affix my signature 2. The herein described process for the in presence of two witnesses. 5 treatment of ores or substances containing 7 metallic oxids, particularly those of silver, SOLOMON GANELIN' lead or zinc, which consists in mixing said Witnesses: substances with a molten salt capable of dis- WOLDEMAR IIAUPT,

solving the said oxids from the rest of the MAX. 0. STAEHLER. 

